


Creatures of Gotham

by BeanBean8



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Canon Can Kiss My Ass, Demons, Gen, I'll tag more as I write, Jason's foul language, Just let them be family, Not Canon Compliant, Not beta read we die like robins, Vampires, Werewolves, mermaid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-09-30 23:07:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20455052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeanBean8/pseuds/BeanBean8
Summary: 'Some claimed that Batman was more than a man. A supernatural creature, an alien, an angel, the ideas were endless. But one thing was certain. Batman may be human, but his birds most certainly weren’t.'Creatures of the supernatural aren't unheard of in Gotham, and certainly not within it's tight knit hero community. But when something threatens Batman's family, how will they handle this threat which targets not only them, but their supernatural blood?





	1. Scales and pointy teeth.

Though Dick Grayson may have been born for the ocean, his true home would always be in the sky. He may have spent years leaping from the dark rooftops of Gotham and Blüdhaven, but somehow swinging and flying through the night sky never got old for him. He had never inherited the fear of heights so common in his species, and for that he was thankful.

But simply performing on stage wasn’t enough for him anymore, and so he had become Robin, the boy wonder. And he had protected a city that soon became his home. But it wasn’t until he took on the identity of Nightwing that he truly felt complete. So many of the rules that bound him as Batman’s sidekick didn’t apply anymore, and that left him free to do what he wished.

And that included taking full advantage of his heritage.

For Dick Grayson was a merman, like his mother and grandmother and generations of Graysons that preceded him. As Robin, he couldn’t show his tail, it would be all too easy to link the sidekick to Bruce Wayne’s young ward. So he avoided water, kept his scales and gills covered, and hid his shimmering eyes from the world.

But as Nightwing, he embraced his aquatic blood. With a suit that could stretch to accommodate his tail, he protected the water and the air of his new city, Blüdhaven. Word had spread fast, but few had connected the merman with Batman’s sidekick. Especially since he had gained a new Robin so quickly.

Some claimed that Batman was more than a man. A supernatural creature, an alien, an angel, the ideas were endless. But one thing was certain. Batman may be human, but his birds most certainly weren’t.

\----------

Clutching his waterproof phone, Dick climbed out of Gotham harbour and onto a small rowboat that bobbed gently, tied to a post on the nearby walkway. He sighed and lay back, stretching his tail out and waiting. Much as though he loved swimming between Gotham and Blüdhaven, waiting for his tail to dry out and re-form into legs was a pain in the ass. Sighing, he reached up to his ear and tuned into the comm channel.

“Hey Oracle, anything exciting in your neck of the woods tonight?”

A slight crackle echoed through the line until a soft voice let out a quiet chuckle.

“Sorry to disappoint, it’s a quiet night. Batman and Robin are hunting down some of Riddler’s goons, Red is following up on a case.” Barbara sighed.

Dick groaned and ran a hand through his black locks, reminding himself to buy some more shampoo later. Luscious locks demanded care after all. 

“What about Hood? I thought he was in town tonight?” he suddenly asked, unlocking his phone and double checking his texts.

“Haven’t been in direct contact. Though if his Snapchat is anything to go by, he’s not gone after anything larger than a few drug dealers.”

He sighed and opened the app on his phone, not for the first time regretting showing Jason how to work that particular app. A lot of the younger heroes had social media, Nightwing included. It allowed them to warn people of imminent danger, but more importantly it helped them relate to the people they were protecting. The Red Hood’s Snapchat was a different story.

The first image was a rather nice view of Gotham from the top of a building, perfectly reasonable. The following image of multiple unconscious figures piled on the floor was not so reasonable. Nor was the image of a tied up goon covered in blood, alongside a visible gloved middle finger and the caption ‘Awful dinner date. Didn’t bring flowers, screamed too much, easy to intimidate. 2/10’. He’d have to have words with Jason. Again.

“Got anything at all Oracle? I’m bored. I only swam over because I thought there’d be something to do here.” he exclaimed, flicking his tail in annoyance.

“I promise I’ll call you when I do.” she replied before disconnecting.

Groaning, he scrolled through a few more stories until, finally, he felt a familiar tingling in his tail. In a few moments, his tail transformed back into scaly legs. It would take about an hour for the scales to disappear, but he didn’t mind. They were safely hidden under his suit anyway.

Standing up, he reached for his grapple gun and flew up into the Gotham night.

\----------

About an hour into his relatively quiet patrol of the Gotham, his comm crackled.

“You still looking for something to do, boy wonder?” Oracle asked, and he could somehow tell she was grinning behind her computer.

“Sure. You got any particular party in mind?” he smirked, landing on a nearby rooftop and rolling across the gravel, narrowly avoiding an air conditioning vent.

“Red Robin found one of Hood’s costumes down by the bowery. Not just his jacket, the entire costume. Combined with reports of a wolf near Crime Alley, I think it’s safe to assume what’s happened.”

“Got it. I’ll go make sure he doesn’t maul any dealers before B finds him. Tell Red he’s welcome to join.”

And with a destination and a goal in mind, he grinned. Running to the edge of the building, he leapt off the edge and fell, wind ripping through his hair and whistling in his ears. At the last second, in full view of the excited civilians below, he launched his grapple line and flew up into the night.

\----------

There was a reason why Red Robin wore a cowl. Aside from the fact that it hadn’t been his costume first, the main reason was that a domino mask just wasn’t quite good enough to hide his identity anymore.

Tim Drake was born into one of the few openly vampiric families in Gotham. The Drakes were an old family, and their nocturnal lifestyle was well known throughout the elite. Somehow, despite the paper white skin and jet black hair, they managed to carve out an image for themselves. So the cowl was there not only to help conceal his identity, but to protect him from the harsh sunlight that he often found himself in as Red Robin.

Though his aversion to daylight was somewhat bothersome, his improved reflexes and good sense of smell when it came to blood made him a formidable foe. And lacking the need to sleep, he had the time to hunt down twice as many leads as his fellow heroes. His family were more than willing to provide blood in the event of an emergency, so in the end he had to admit that vampirism was somewhat of a blessing for the young detective.

He knew when Nightwing was close,so didn’t feel the need to turn around as his brother landed behind him. Dick grinned.

“Good to see you Red. What have we got so far?” he asked, walking over to him.

Tim sighed and held up a slightly torn and bloodstained leather jacket. There was no doubt as to who it belonged to.

“Hood’s been here. Not sure what set him off, but his armour is scattered all along this street. There’ve been three reports of a wolf in the area of Crime Alley in the past half hour. B was planning a drug bust in the area tonight.”

Nightwing cursed under his breath and ran a hand through his hair, walking around in a small circle. He took a deep breath and looked down the alleyway.

“Alright. Lead the way.” he replied, and the two walked down towards the cesspit of Gotham. Crime Alley.

\----------

It didn’t take too long for the pair to arrive at the infamous neighbourhood which claimed countless lives, Bruce Wayne’s parents among the dead that haunted this particular grimy patch of concrete. It was hard to believe that anyone called this area home, and yet it was where Batman had picked up his second son.

“He has a safehouse near here, right?” Red Robin asked, looking upwards at the dilapidated and graffiti decorated buildings nearby.

“Yeah, but I don’t think he’ll head there.” Nightwing from and took a few steps forward. He paused and turned around to look at his partner.

“Can you smell him yet?”

Red Robin frowned and took a moment to focus, sniffing a few times. He wandered down the alley and towards the main road, keeping a gentle grip on his bow staff. It was faint, but just about there, that familiar scent of gunpowder, blood, and slightly damp canine. Not the most pleasant of scents, but distinctly Jason.

He nodded and motioned for Nightwing to follow him. Together they made their way up a fire escape and across two rooftops, before reaching the edge of a crumbling apartment. 

A near deafening howl echoed from the alley below, primal yet high pitched. Looking down, the two grinned. The wolf in the alley looked up with sickly green eyes and howled once more.


	2. Handguns and Wolves

To say the Gotham elite had been surprised when Bruce Wayne had taken in a young merman would be an understatement. Merpeople were seen as cheap performers and seductive monsters. Yet Dick Grayson had somehow managed to charm and warm the hearts of the rich and famous, his adorable shining personality making way for an attractive yet gentle persona that formed in his older years.

They had been a little less charmed when Bruce Wayne took in another child, and this time it wasn’t an exotic mer who had nowhere to go, but a short tempered werewolf from the grimy slums of the city, who seemed five seconds away from mauling most businessmen and reporters at every gala he attended. Werewolves were seen as feral and filthy creatures, who seemed to mostly take security jobs around the narrows. And Jason hadn’t exactly done much to change Gotham’s mind.

Just as Dick had when he was Robin, Jason had been forbidden from using his abilities whilst in the scaly pants and pixie boots. And like Dick, he had embraced that part of him once he had outgrown the red, green and yellow.

This didn’t exactly explain why he had shifted into wolf form on short notice and was now crouched in a pile of trash, howling and barking at anything that moved. A small part of his signature helmet was caught on a fluffy black ear, so it was certain that he hadn’t planned this transformation.

Gracefully, Dick leapt from the rooftop and hopped between the rusting fire escape steps until he landed a few meters away from his snarling sibling. Tim followed closely behind, landing behind Dick with his bow staff drawn but not extended.

Interacting with the Red Hood in wolf form usually went one of two ways. Either he would instantly recognise his ‘pack’ (no matter how many times he insisted he was no longer part of the family whilst a human) and turn into what could only be described as a skittish and not overly bright labrador, or he would attack anyone in sight. Or it would be some sort of variation of the two, he tended to be unpredictable these days.

Really, there were a number of factors that could affect what would happen next. Any newcomers to their situation would tip him towards violence, as would sudden noises or lights. If Arsenal happened to appear out of nowhere, Roy would probably be able to play fetch with him and calmly take him home with his tail wagging. Batman appearing could throw any predictions off, and there was no telling how much involvement the Pit had in this situation.

Taking a deep breath, Dick took a few more steps towards the black wolf, his palms out at his sides and open. Sensing no increased hostility, he took another few steps forward.

“Hey there Littlewing, are you alright in there?” he asked quietly, his voice soft. Tim instantly recognised it as the voice he used with small children and fear gas victims. The last time he had used it on their gun-wielding sibling, he had punched Dick in the nose.

It seemed to have the intended effect this time though, and the black wolf seemed to calm a little, the loud growling quieting to a gentle rumble. It walked forward, paws sinking into the garbage that surrounded it. He seemed to be having a little trouble getting out of the pile, but Dick left him to free himself.

And given a minute or two, he had managed to escape the piles of broken glass, filthy bedding and empty packets that inhabited that particularly dirty alley. The wolf shook his head, shaking the remnants of a crisp packet from his tail before staring at the two vigilantes that stood in the alley, watching closely.

Dick slowly knelt down on the ground, still keeping his palms out in the open. And he waited.

Slowly, the wolf made his way towards Nightwing, pausing a few times and backing up. But there didn’t seem to be any rush, and eventually, the wolf reached him and sniffed cautiously, sickly green eyes examining the mer.

Recognising the familiar scent, the wolf let out a small bark and placed his paws on Dick’s thighs, licking him across the cheek. Dick giggled and gently pet him, smiling in relief. They were lucky, he was friendly today. There would be no fight.

“Hey there. Yeah, it’s me! It's me. Yes, it's good to see you too.” He cooed, continuing to run his fingers through the thick and tangled fur. Looking back at Tim, he tilted his head to beckon him forward.

The wolf barked again happily and wagged its tail, hopping down and wandering around in a small circle before returning to the two and letting loose a quiet but friendly sounding howl. If a howl could sound friendly to anyone but another wolf that is.

“We need to get you back to a safehouse ok? Do you understand me?” Dick asked, but frowned as the wolf continued to stare and bark. With werewolves, one could never be sure how coherent they were. Sometimes they would completely lose themselves to instinct, while other times they had been known to solve complex mathematics and attempt to drive a car.

He sighed and shook his head, casting Tim an ever so slightly desperate glance. There was no way they could convince an overexcited wolf to follow them to a top floor apartment several blocks away. And very little chance that they would be able to carry said overexcited wolf over the rooftops without being attacked or losing their grip on him.

Which really only left them with one option.

When one had a family and large selection of friends who had powerful supernatural abilities, one tended to have a backup plan should they need it. After all, given the business they were in, it would be reckless not to. Bruce carried Kryptonite for Superman, but that was hardly the only backup plan used. All of the batfamily carried a small silver chain should Tim become a threat, a small vial of holy water for either Tim or Damien, and (most important at that particular moment) strong tranquilizers should Jason’s wolf form become a handful.

With Dick distracting the skittish but pretty cheerful wolf, Tim dug around in his utility belt, reaching around to the back pockets from which he pulled out a syringe. Gently, but quickly, he pulled the cap off and pushed the needle into the wolf’s neck, pressing down on the plunger. A few moments later, the lump of black fur flopped to his side and onto Dick’s lap.

Chuckling, Dick picked him up and slung the heavy creature over his shoulder, looking down at Tim.

“He’s going to kill us when he wakes up.”

\----------

It had taken about three times as long as it should have to reach Jason’s nearest safehouse, a dilapidated little apartment in the Narrows which seemed to suffer from a mold problem and a complete lack of hot water. Though this one did actually have a bed, which was somewhat of a rarity for Jason’s safehouses.

Dick had dumped him on said bed and left Tim to look after him for half an hour. With Tim in charge, he had run down to the local store and bought a whole roast chicken as well as some deodorant. By the time he had returned, Jason had shifted back into human form, and was sprawled over the bed snoring loudly.

He took this time to slip some tracksuit bottoms on his brother, the last thing they needed was Jason both naked and angry. There had been a brief search for a t-shirt, but Tim had refused to go anywhere near Jason’s wardrobe given that he had found a dead body in his brothers closet in the past.

A few hours later, after Dick had taken a short nap on a couch which had almost certainly been dragged in from the street, a confused and then rather angry sounding shout echoed through the tiny apartment.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!”

He was then greeted with Jason’s angry face and what he was pretty certain was a handgun. Of course, it was unlikely that the Red Hood had a single room not furnished with a weapon. Tim had found a shotgun under the bathroom sink a few minutes earlier.

“Ok, I get that you’re mad….” Dick attempted, holding his hands up in premature surrender.

“No shit Dickhead, of course I’m mad! You fucking drugged me!” Jason exclaimed, his eyes swirling with the rage of the Pit. 

“You were jumping about and barking at garbage!” Tim yelled, deciding to join the argument.

“I didn’t ask for your input Replacement.” came a sharp reply as Jason growled and gravitated towards the roast chicken. Tearing the packaging from it, he started to devour the meat. Dick watched with a hint of disgust.

Giving Jason a minute to eat and calm down, Dick fiddled with the gloves of his suit. Once about half the chicken was gone, he tried speaking again.

“Look, I’m just worried about you Littlewing. Why were you transformed in the middle of the Narrows? You left your uniform behind.” he sighed.

Jason paused and put the chicken down, wiping his hands on his trousers and reaching for a pack of cigarettes left on the kitchen counter.

“I don’t know Dickface. I was just kicking some guy’s ass when something sharp hit me. Didn’t figure it was important, but the next thing I knew I was changing and I couldn't stop. That’s all I know.” he scowled and shoved the cigarette in his mouth before lighting it and exhaling a large puff of smoke. Tim wrinkled his nose in disgust.

“You think someone drugged you?” Dick asked, concern lacing his features. Jason merely shrugged in response. “We should tell Bruce.”

Jason let out a low growl, gritting his sharp teeth.

“No way in hell, Dickhead.”

Before he could be stopped, Dick raised his hand to his comm and flashed a grin at Jason.

“Bruce. We have a problem.” he said sweetly.

“I will fucking shoot you.” Jason glared in response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, I wrote some more. Still not entirely sure where I'm going with this, and I'm not sure about the pacing. But hey, new chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Do I look like I know what I'm doing? No. Do I know where this story is going? No. Did I just want to ignore current DC canon because it sucks? Yes.....
> 
> I've had this thing rattling around in my head for a while now. I'll try and update regularly, but I don't have a great track record with that so just bear with me.
> 
> Comments really do inspire me to keep writing, so drop one if you feel like.


End file.
